Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions
by Dreamer's Dark Requiem
Summary: Danny wasn't sure he understood what was happening. /"You will be the one. But can you handle the power of the keys of our worlds?"/ AUish
1. Profundus Dive

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Pairings

Couples; Sokai, D/S, T/J, mentions of T/V

Friendships; D/S/T, SoKaiKu, Sora/Danny, Sora/Donald/Goofy, Mentions of AkuRokuShion

Disclaimers; Not mine. At all. cept the idea, thats mine.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam. AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 1; Profundus Dive

* * *

_As a whispering voice told my heart, lead my heart. I was made to stand_

"Sou" by Hatsune Miku

* * *

You know, people say the feeling of falling is great, but...

Danny Fenton didn't like it one bit.

He had fallen quite a few times actually, usually from being blasted by ghosts, but he wa susally in his ghost form, and thus, safe from becoming a human pancake on the sidewalk.

This, however, was not one of those times.

Danny really didn't enjoy falling, especially in pitch black like this. He couldn't see where he was falling, and worst of all: He couldn't go ghost.

Sometimes, He couldn't help but wonder in Mr. Murphy(along with god and every other deity) hated him. It would explain why every time he said 'It could be worse' it GOT WORSE. A light reached up to break him off from his musings. Tilting his head back to get a better view, he saw something huge below him that was, well, glowing with light.

He was now wondering if someone spiked his drink.

Of course, he was still falling, but it had changed a little bit as he was now no longer diving head first but seemed to be turning in the air, trying to fall on his feet. Though, his legs would probably break, but he'd rather that than dying.

As soon as his feet touched the 'floor', the light seemed to peel away from it in the form of thousands of doves(what is with the doves anyway?). Danny stared up at the 'sky' where the birds had disappeared too but than looked down, curious as to what the light had been hiding. Below was a giant colored glass picture, himself and his ghost form displayed on it. In the hands of both were very odd weapons, giant keys maybe? The one his human form held had a mainly black blade, with blue waves reaching up through the blade to the keys, which faded out to white at the end. Blue seemed to hum around it and the hand guard itself was white. The other one had a pure white shaft with green wave marks going up, and the teeth darkened to black. This one's hand guard was black.

_**"Huh. You know, Ventus was the last person to ever have much interest in the murals of the heart(1). Of course, his looked much different, but then, his fate is much different then your own."**_

Danny froze, "Who are YOU? And what are you doing in MY dreams? I know I didn't dream you up."

A chuckle, _**"Oh, don't worry about that, young phantom. You could say that I am a phantom myself." **_He frowned.

"Whats THAT mean?" The voice answered with a chuckle but didn't say anything more. Danny snorted softly, "Lazy..." He heard a choking splutter from the voice and something along the lines of: _**"Why must everyone say that?! the only one who didn't was Sora!!"**_ Danny raised an eyebrow at the unfamilar name but resisted the urge to ask.

_**"Well, Whatever the case is, just make your choice about which 'power' your heart will use." **My heart? What the hell is this guy talking about? _As he wondered three pedestals appeared around him in a triangle formation. At the point was a staff with a Mickey Mouse symbol for the magic conductor. To his left was a sharp sword, the same symbol on the hilt in black. On the other side was a simply shield with the symbol large in an inky black with a red background. "Okay..."

Despite the urge to grab the staff and sword and smack the idiot voice around the head with it(once he found him, of course), he moved towards the shield. It seemed that the voice was generally surprised by this and was about to open his mouth to ask when Danny said, "I'm fine with this. can we get going now?"

It snorted as a door appeared. _**"That door will lead you to where your enemies lie. But be wary, awaiting you on the last platforms...The Key of water that wishes for the pact to free her from death(2) and the dark shadow of you light."**_

He frowned but didn't reply, heading to the door. He stared at it, curiosity biting the edges of his mind. _**"Jsut remember, Kiddo, Curiosity killed the cat. Oh, and about Sora? Wouldn't you like to know.(3)"**_

Danny snorted in return, pulling the doors opened. He was greeted with a beam of light, making him splutter in surprise. He heard the fading laughter of the voice and would swear later that he heard him say some thing that sounded like 'Got you.' Danny pouted.

After the light faded away, he was standing on the same glass mural as before, the blue standing out sharply. Danny had only taken a few steps away from the spot where he had stood when ant-like creatures seemed to fade into existence. They had beady yellow eyes that glowed and were all black, antennae twitching. The halfa grimaced, thinking, _This things...They're worse than any ghost I've met..._

He pulled the shield up higher, only than notcing he still had it. Danny knew that he couldn't change to Phantom; Something about this place blocked his access. "Alright, ant...things, Let's go." The creatures leapt and actually seemed to glide(or maybe his imagination?) at him. He forced the shield forward, slamming it into the dark shadows. They disappeared into mists of black, surprising Danny.

After a few minutes of more fighting, the halfs was allowed to proceed forward. The next two platforms had creatures that were mainly silky white, having zippers where their mouths should be. If he had cast a look at the platform murals, he would have noticed varying colors, these two being green and red respectfully.

He arrived at the final platform(this one mainly yellow) before another door. A woman with blue hair anda rather complicated looking outfit stood there, her back to him. Danny opened his mouth to ask, but she interrupted him, "You will be the one. You will wield the keys of Returned Humanity and Masked Phantom(5). But...Can you wield the power of the keys of our worlds?" Danny stared at her, bewildered as she turned around to face him.

She had bright blue eyes and a mainly dark colored outfit. She had long sleeve-like, well, things on her arms, covering most of them. From what he could tell, she wore fingerless gloves, and an odd half-skit around her waist. Her shoes were mainly silver, but had matches of black here and there. Danny didn't know what to make of her...

A weapon, a lot like the giant keys he and his counterpart had in the murals, flashed into her hand and, to his surprise, his own shield was replaced by the key that his human half had in the mural. The halfa heard the woman mutter 'Masked Phantom' before attacking him. Danny was shocked by the action, but raised his own weapon to parry.

The fight for the pact had begun.

* * *

**(1) Reference to a FanFic called Kingdom Hearts; Birth by Sleep; Destiny's Recall by Eternal Symphony**

**(2) This fic is assuming that Ven, Terra, and Aqua were killed. I know now, that this is not the case, but I had written the whole plot line down before I learned more about BBS.**

**(3) God, this guy loves to use quotes doesn't he? That's an Xigbar quote. I both hate and love Xigbar XD It's impossible not to do both!**

**(4) Returned Humanity=Phantom, Masked Phantom=Fenton. Just an FYI.**

**Um. Yeah. It could have been better D: But-but I wouldn't to get the first half of the dive finished sooo....Heheh, Latin chapter titles~ Or at least mainly latin. lol there'll probably be song quotes in all of my chapters. JUST SO YOU KNOW. Next chapter will be Sora and gang. Don't know what to call it yet, but I am happy it's done. Gawd, it took forever to get this started~**


	2. Castle Business

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; So not mine. Only the(some what bad) plot idea is.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam. AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 2; Castle Business

* * *

_`Lights of the town are shining with a chilly pain like ether anesthetic, unable to sleep at 2 AM._

"Meltdown" by Kagamine Rin

* * *

He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or upset(1). By the looks of his friends, Sora settled on upset, though he was still more relieved.

The King glanced at each of them in turn, "This information come from our quest, but he told us that he'd tell us more about this if you guys came to hear," Mickey glanced towards the stairs, "I've already sent a messenger to tell him you're here, so he should be here soon."

True to word, a well-dressed, silver-haired man appeared at the entry way and entered the room. To Sora, the minute he stepped in the entire room had suddenly become bitingly cold. Strangely, no one else noticed, but this didn't stop Sora from shivering a little.

**_Huh. You'd think Kairi would notice._**

Sora nearly jumped at the new voice, but soon recongnized it. _How many times do I have to tell you NOT to do that? _**_Hundreds. Doesn't mean I'll stop thought. It's fun watching you jump a mile a minute._**

The keyblade master was brought back to reality when the man began to speak, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I only wish it was under better circumstances." Mickey nodded in agreement before turning to the trio again, "This is Vlad Masters. He comes from the world of Amity to ask for our help." Sora turned to stare at Vlad, Roxas being suspicious of him.

_**Seriously, Sora, what type of guy could he be if when he walks into the room and the whole room goes cold?**_

_The King trusts him! That's enough for me._

**_For you, maybe. But me..._**

Sora sighed lightly, before finally tuning into the conversation. "You see, my world is what is called a 'Dual world.' They are apparently very rare, and people can't usually leave the world. I was lucky to get off, but I needed to. You see, two of my good friends' son has fallen to darkness. I wish to gte him out of it, but I truly have no idea how to do that. I'm also fearful that the darkness may bring these 'Heartless' into Amity."

The teenage trio stared. "So, you're asking us to find a way to save him?," Riku was incredulous, "We can only get him out if he WANTS to get out!" Vlad sighed, "Please, will you tr--Oh my." Teh man was interuppted by the arrival of Heartless. Sora and Riku were attacking in only an instant, Roxas muttering something about '_**I swear it's him who brought them!**_' in the back of Sora's mind.

After a few minutes of fighting, the heartless were taken care of. Vlad seemed fascinated but also a little scared, "Those were heartless, then?" Mickey nodded, "Gosh, I forgot you hadn't seen one yet. But than, it's not really a 'seen one, seen them all' situation, you know?" He smiled weakly, "Perhaps." The king than seemed to realize something.

"Opps! I forgot. Hey, Sora, Riku, do you remember when we unlocked that door on the World that never was?," At their nods, he continued, "It seems we unlocked soem sorta lock on Kingdom Hearts, that stops people from getting keyblades. You know, like people with strong hearts? Welp, it looks like people all over the worlds with strong hearts are being awakened to use their keyblades. I've already tracked one down to, welp, Amity, but it's not Vlad, `cause he's already showed me his keyblade."

Vlad smiled, almost smugly, before, in a flash, a dark keyblade appeared in his head. Sora assumed the keyblade was like Riku's, it appeared dark, but was light in essence.

_**You are soooo wrong. **Shut up Roxas!_

Kairi seemd surprised by this, "Your majesty, Vlad has a strong heart?" Mickey nodded. "A-huh. But I think we can talk about that later! We need to get to Amity and find the person who is awakening. Gotta help `em before they get hurt by the guy who fell to darkness."

Vlad raised a hand, as if to stop them, "Wait. I must tell you about him, the one who fell." They turned to look at him, Vlad almost forgotten. "He is not fully human, nor fully ghost. He is what is called a 'halfa' on our world, but Humans do not know about halfas. The ghosts of our world do know, but the only reason i know is that I met a particularly friendly one that told me about them. Most ghosts that most humans see are the ones who would like nothing more than to kill them all. Thankfully, there is a hunter who fights off the violent ones."

Kairi tipped her head to the side, looking very cute in Sora's opinion, and asked, "What's their name?"

He smiled, almost evilly, "Valarie Gray. You can talk to her about ghosts, if you need to," The trio nodded, "Now, I need to tell you the name, or at least the one he usually goes by, of the one who fell." Everyone leaned towards him in anticipation. "Now, now. His name isn't that great. It is only Danny Fenton. his other name he goes by is Danny Phantom, but no one on my world yet knows that."

Kairi blinked in confusion while Sora piped up, "If the rest of your world doesn't know, why do you...?"

_**Even more suspicious, I tell you!**_

"Ah, that would be because I have seen him, if you would, change to this 'phantom' half. Though, I do wonder, is it possible fore a being to have two hearts, like a Dual world has?" The last part was addressed to Mickey, which the mouse king nodded to. "Welp, it is possible. They're called dual hearts, cause they have two. No, no Sora, not like you were, but they have two hearts naturally. Some say that Dual Hearts can create new hearts inside of themselves, and that it's increbile hard to make a heartless out of one. But they can also become like a giant heartless churning machine, if the theory on being able to create new hearts inside of `em is true." Sora shivered, "Don't need that."

The King nodded in agreement, before turning to Vlad with a questioning look, "But why did ya nee dto know that?" Vlad gained a grim look on his face, "Because, the one who fell to darkness, Danny...He may be a Dual Heart."

* * *

Back on a dual world under the name of Amity, a 15 year old teen went under the fight to gain a pact from the Key of Unda(2). Even as they spoke, he struggled to win a fight that he was already losing. Could it even be possible that he would win?

**_Please win._**

**_Please be the one. The one who will give me an existence outside of the sky(3)._**

* * *

**(1)I'm a firm believer that Sora would have the hardest time getting back into a normal life, more so than Riku. I dunno why, I just think that.**

**(2) Key of Unda= Key of Water. Unda is another latin word, besides Aqua, for water. And Aqua is the one he's fighting with...Anyway, We'll get back to `im in a minute~**

**(3)Heheh. I can't tell what that was yet, It'd spoil the surprise. But I will tell you it was the voice of another one of the 'keys.' and whose name means 'sky?' Muahaahahaha.**

**-Snort- Do you think Vlad is a good guy? I wodner if you do. I trust more in Roxas than in Vlad, though. Evidence says I should XD Anyway, Next chapter well be for Danny again, were We'll wrap up with the pact fight and than move on to the final battle with the heartless. Oh, this shall be fun.**


	3. Key of Unda

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; So not mine. Only the(some what bad) plot idea is.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam. AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 3; Key of Unda

* * *

_Li~ight Song._

_By lighting your shadow...(light song) I will search your figure(light Song)_

_Ajoined hand came unbound and..(light song) I (now) spell_

_you name...~_

"Light Song" by Miku Hatsune

* * *

Danny groaned lightly, rubbing a light bruise on his arm. He was absolutely tired...And the fact he actually got a full nights sleep but felt like he had gone 2 days without any was making him even more tired. The halfa could only blame the strange dream he had last night...And he couldn't blame just his lack of energy on it, either. The bruises on his legs and arms were also caused, somehow, by the dream.

He had yet to mention any of the dream to his friends(**_You really should tell them. _**_Shut up, I don't know you._), but only because he was afraid of being called a nutjob. Wouldn't you, after all, if you claimed you got at least ten bruises from a DREAM? And then there was the strange voice that kept talking to him...

**_I'm not strange. _**_You are. Or it's me. Either way, it is strange. **Thats only because you think you're going insane. You're no~ot. **Gah, shut up, I need to pay attention to Mr. Lan- _"What could possibly more important to, Mr. Fenton, then learning about the rise and fall of the Roman Republic?"

Danny tried not to groan again, "Well, uh, I don't know, Mr. Lancer." The balding man's lip went pursed down into a thin line, "Well then, Mr. Fenton, I suggest you pay attention to the class. Understood." The last part was not a question. The halfa nodded slowly, tiredly, and the teacher relented, going back to his lecture.

After 14 more minutes of the droning lecture(during which, Danny struggled not to fall asleep), the class was given an assigment and told to spilt into groups. Almost instantly, Danny, Sam, and Tucker were together; The latter two would willingly allow the exhausted boy to rest and do the easy work while they did the harder parts. Both usually never questioned his exhaustion, but that was on days were they had been informed before hand about a late night ghost chase. There had been no information of it, so the two agreed to ask Danny about it during the assignment.

Which they did.

He ignored the question.

Tucker and Sam were most displeased with this response.

"Danny. Seriously, you do not look okay. You have all those bruises-Yes, we saw them, we're not blind-So could you answer the question?"

"Bmmmnah." "...What?" "...No."

"Danny!"

"No. and I'm tired, so please leave me alone?"

The two stared as their best and oldest friend rested his head against the table, falling asleep almost instantly. Regardless, however, of how peaceful he looked, Danny was once again confronted by the blue-haired woman.

**_"So. When are you going to admit that I'm here and theres nothing you can do to stop me?" _**"I won't." **_"Jeez. you're more stubborn then HE was." _**"...He?" A slightly hopeful look. **_"I'm so not telling you." _**A groan from the halfa. "...You at least owe me your name, for putting me through all this trouble." **_"Ah. My name?...It's Aqua. Like Latin for 'Water'...You're laughing! Stop it! My name's not funny!"_**

Danny continued to snicker at the blue-haired woman now labeled as 'Aqua.' Finally, the somewhat up-tight keyblade wielder broke out into her own laughter. Once they finished their peals of laughter, Aqua smiled, **_"I haven't laughed like that in awhile. Thank you." _**He blinked, startled. "Uh, your welcome?" She giggled at his sheepish look before her expression turned sober.

**_"As much as I'd like to say you're here only to say hi and all, You're here for something more important. You see...uh...I'm not good at explaining these things..." _**The keyblade wielder paused, a faint frown stretching across her mouth. Then, she seemed to figure out what she was going to say, as she started again, **_"You see, besides 'Keys', like me, there are others who work with a 'Holder', which is you. They're called __G__uardians, and, basically, they stalk your evey movement just to make sure nobody hurts you, see? Well, 'Keys' are usually alive, too; You're the first to have arsenal for DEAD 'Keys' since the first Holder. Don't ask about that, I have no idea how to explain THAT bit. Anyway, Guardians are usually 2 from each 'area', or world. For example, they don't know it yet, but your two friends are the Guardians of THIS world."_ **Danny stared, utterly confused.

She smiled weakly, **_"They don't know it yet, not until the OTHER two show up."_** The halfa frowned in confusion. "Other two?" **_"I can sense two other guardians coming closer to this world. They're not too far now, They'll probably arrive in a couple of hours." _**Aqua gave him a toothy smile, **_Now, wake it up, sleepy head. You won't be tired anymore. Well, not till tonight that is, but you get the picture."_**

He opened his mouth to ask what she meant when he was opening his eyes(weren't they already open?) and staring at a wooden desk top. He felt someone shake his shoulder, "Danny? We're all finished, wake up." The teen weakly rose his head and glanced at Sam, who was giving him a faint frown and concern flashed in her eyes.

Danny gave her a weak grin, "Hey. Uh, sorry for snapping earlier." She smiled, "No, it's fine. We shouldn't have been bothering you so much." She gave Tucker a dry look and the other was suddenly nodding his head, though, when Sam turned her head away, he gave him a rolled eye look.

Stifling a laugh, the halfa merely shook his head, getting up with the other two. Together, three handed the assignment in, Danny shuffling nervously, hoping that Mr. Lancer didn't call them on it. **_Don't worry, I bet he won't even notice. _**_Oh, how comforting._

He sighed lightly in relief when the teacher took it. Just as the trio made way to their seats, they lucked out. The bell rang loudly across the room. **_Ohhh, luck is on your side, today! _**Oh man, this woman was rather peppy now that she had explained everything to him.

English was next. Part of Danny wanted to rip his hair out, seeing as Mr. Lancer would probably be teaching his class as well(_What the heck had happened to all our teachers?_). Of course, the annoucement temporary substitue made was enough to make the halfa grin.

A new teacher. Only for the next few months, but a new teacher none the less. Aqua is oddly quiet about it, and when asked she only mumbled**_ I think I know who it is..._** It almost made Danny curious, but the teen decided he wasn't going to push his new friend.

That was a bit odd, he decided, seeing ashe had only officialy met her today; Last night didn't count, they were fighting, no chances for talking.

Many of the other students in the class were clambering to know who the brave soul was. Not many people nowadays actually came to Amity Park for more than a couple of days. Those that did had been before the many appearances of the ghosts that haunted the city.

Danny couldn't help his faint snort of amusement. Sam glanced at him and than smiled lightly. Why? He had no clue, but the girl's smiles always made him blush a little. _Dammit, why do I blush about that, of all things?_ Aqua, wisely, kept mostly silent, though he could hear a few echoing snickers.

The trio took their usual spot near the middle of the row nearest the door. Tucker stared off into space, obviously already bored by the sub. His other best friend sighs and begins to get ready for the period. And Danny? He just wanted to lie his head down and sleep more.

_**Too bad for you. HAHAHA.** ...Jerk._

* * *

By the end of the day, there had been only two ghost apperances(one of them being the Box Ghost), which was increadbly odd. A few people actually said that they hoped that this marked the end of the hauntings. Danny disagreed. Strongly.

_Those guys aren't the type just to give up, so why aren't they here bothering the hell out of me? **Oh you swore, interesting. Hm, I'd guess because there might be something going on in there. I could go check it out...? **...You can actually leave my head and go into the Ghost Zone? _A light sniff. **_Why, yes, I can. I am DEAD, afterall._**

Danny sighed and allowed the blue-haired woman to leave. She gave a light cry of happiness(**_No offense, but it's kind of stuffy in there, and with only you to talk to... _**_None taken._) before her faint presence in the back of his head disappeared. _Didn't realize I had gotten attached to you so soon. And it's really quiet. It's..kind of creepy._

He hmmed as he passed crowds of people(Sam and Tucker had left earlier, due to a curfew their parents had envoked.), glancing around at everyone. Once, he thought he say some type of animal staring at him from the shadows, but when the teen looked back, it was gone.

It was even more creepy than being rather alone in his head, because even later, he kept getting snatches of the creatures. Only when he was nearly home(and very jumpy) did one of these...things(they didn't count as animals, or even creatures) leapt out at him.

To be honest, he thought he was going to become completely dead in just amtter of seconds, when the strangest thing happened.

A blade of violet, arching energy slams into the being's body and it disappears into a fog. The owner of the blade is leaning in an attack crouch, long firey red hair hanging around her face. She soon stands up straight, discharging the blade(Okay, it just disappeared into the hilt. WIERD.) and turning to him.

The woman has jade green eyes and a toothy smile, "You okay?" Danny blinks and gives a faint nod. She grins wider and murmurs a good. As soon as the halfa opened his mouth to ask who she was, she had gone. "...That was rude."

Danny sighed, giving into the fact he wouldn't get her name, and hurried the rest of the way home. _Well, at least Mom and Dad won't question me about injuries._

* * *

Aqua had slammed back into his head later that night, screaming questions and demanding if he was okay. It had given him a horrible headache, but it humored her and explained what happened. When he mentioned the red-head, the keyblade wielder calmed down significantly. When asked she gave a simple shrug and said that if one of them were here, he'd be fine.

Dammit, what did THAT mean?

By the time English class rolled around the next day, Danny had completely forgotten about the new teacher. So when he saw a rather familiar red-head standing at the front of the class, a smirk on her face, he gaped. Her green eyes sparkle as if she knew something he didn't and she jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, "Seating chart."

He glanced at it and gawked. It showed that he and his friends were all seated near the door and in the middle of the row, like where they usually sat when they didn't have assigned seating. His two friends behind him both were staring in surprise at the chart as well before one of them(Tucker!) moved to his seat, whistling lightly.

Sam sighed and followed after. Danny was still completely confused but sat in his new(?) seat. A few minutes later, the rest of the class that had bothered to show up filed in. Noticeably, Paulina and Dash were not among them. The goth that sat next to him snorted quietly at this.

"Alright! I've noticed a few of you aren't here," The red-head smirked, "Too bad for them, because today, we're not going to be doing any work." The class blinked in surprise. She laughed.

She waved at the board, putting the screen the chart had been displayed on away.

"Right than, I suppose you need to know my name...

"It's Mara. Mara Jade. Got it?"

* * *

**Mmmmhmmmm, So there are some Star Wars Characters here. Ohohoho, can you guess what she's supposed to be doing? Heheh, I bet you can, if you think aon it hard enough.**

**Well, not much else to say besides that I'm sorry it's late. Next update might not be until June sometime...So wait till than, okay?**

_**Next Chapter; **_**Radiance**_** It's been 4 months since the meeting in **_**Castle Business _and Sora and his group have arrived on Radiant Garden. Cloud and Tifa have been acting oddly, and strange creatures similiar but very different from Heartless and Nobodies have appeared-The Tainted._**


	4. Radiance

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; No. I don't own any of it. Too bad for me.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam(and probably others). AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 4; Radiance

* * *

_What's madness but nobility of soul_

_at odds with circumstance? The day's on fire!_

_I know the purity of despair,_

_My shadow pinned against a sweating wall._

_The place among the rocks-is it a cave,_

_or a winding path? The edge is what I have._

"In a Dark Time" by Theodore Roethke

* * *

Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart(not that anybody but these two knew her last name) were both very annoyed. Tifa, because Squall-Oh, I'm sorry, _Leon_ wouldn't shut up about helping restore Radiant Gardens("This isn't MY home!" "You're living here now, so get helping." Glare). Why was Cloud annoyed? Because, Sora had come to visit them and he wouldn't leave him ALONE.

The spiky haired man had long since decided that while Zack had been rather hyperactive himself, it had been more endearing to the then-Cadet. Sora's hyperactivity was just plain annoying. Of course, this might have something to do with the fact that with him, his friends, and that forboding Masters man, he had yet to have a chance to discuss finding a way back to Gaia with Tifa.

Damn it.

Nevermind the other(slightly more important) fact that Yuffie nor Cid remembered their home world at all. It was all really starting to tick him off...

"Cloud!" Oh, Dear Minerva, NO. Sora grinned at him, reminding him forcibly of Denzel(_he better be okay..._), and said, cheerfully, "The meeting's going to start soon. Tifa is already there!"

He twitched as Sora ran off. Jeez, that kid was...a thousand times worse than Zack. _"Glad you think so highly of me."_ teased a male voice. _...Oh, wonderful, are you and Aeris stalking me through the lifestream again? "Wha-No, no we're not. Aeris wants to talk to you guys later-I mean, just you and Tifa, ya know? So when you see the pretty green floating lights, that means she's ready to see you guys." Now wait just a second! "See ya, Cloudy!" _The man stifled a groan.

'Pretty Green floating lights?' That could only be the lifestream. Honestly, could he be more...What was the word? He couldn't remember it, but the swordsman decided it didn't matter. Cloud shook his head and headed in the general direction of Merlin's House. Along the way, he somehow picked up Yuffie and Leon, so when he arrived, the meeting hadn't started yet("We can't start without Leon!" "Yes. We. Can." "No, Tifa, dammit." "Yes, Cid, dammit.").

Yuffie was very bouncy, as usually, while Leon just snapped at Tifa and Cid to start the meeting.("Because I'm here now, so let's just START.") The meeting had finally started. The Not-SOLDIER gave the lightest of sighs as they began to give everyone an update on current affairs. His Martial Artist(because Tifa was his, no matter what anyone else said) had moved to stand next to him. Very quietly, Cloud murmured Zack's message into her ear.

"...To the replica of Aeris' chruch...right...?" The bartender whispered under her breath. The blonde gave the faintest of nods. She returned it in full.

They turned their attention back on the commite, "...it has come to our attention that another threat has revealed itself. The King can give further information when he arrives. For now, we'll have to do our best to protect the city. Understood?" Murmured agreements, but Cloud was unsure. If the King wasn't here than why was Sora here?

He voiced the question softly and Leon seemed to be startled by it. "Well, Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Mr. Masters are messengers, to tell us about the danger. They'll be staying until the King can come and explain everything to us." Tifa frowned, "That may be so, but...," She paused and than shook her head, "Whatever. I need to go back to the bar and Cloud has some deliveries to make...So may we be excused?"

Leon nodded and the two left quickly and quietly. Behind them, they heard Sora ask about Tifa's 'bar' and his own 'Deliveries.' Thankfully, they were not stopped once during their speedy retreat. "Man, we're lucky Leon didn't demand an explanation. I mean, my bar doesn't open for another 2 hours. Kind of short sighted of him, right, Cloud?"

The blonde sighed and nodded to the martial artist. "...We should probably go..." She blushed and nodded back. He leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek which made her huff. 'Stupid Cloud' was mumbled as she hurried after Cloud as he strode towards the Second Aeris Church.

"Cloud. Tifa." They had arrived inside the dark building. Standing alone among the flowers, and surronded with soft green lights, was Aeris. She smiled, "It's nice to see you both again."

Tifa gave her a sad smile and Cloud looked away. "Zack said you wanted to see us...and tell us something?"

* * *

"Later, we can tell Cloud and Tifa this, but," Leon looked up at the people remaining in their meeting, "Apparently, there is a new enemy to fight."

Vlad Masters was the first to speak up from his spot in the shadows, "We do not know what these beings are, but we have called them the Tainted. As I said, we do not know exactly what they are, but we do know where they're coming from."

Yuffie stared, her mouth falling open.

* * *

"We do not know the true source of these Tainted, but Masters will tell them they do. However, If myself or the Lady of Between do not know of it, then any source he speaks of is a lie. Do not believe it."

Tifa looked at her, "How can you be so sure?"

Aeris gave her a grim look, "We know it cannot be him because we watch over him. It is our _job_ to watch the Keys Holder." Cloud looked up at her, "Keys holder?"

"The Keys Holder isn't capable of creating the Tainted, because he is pure. Pure enough to wield the keys, the elements, that govern our worlds," She looked at them seriously, "Without him and all of the keys, the Tainted and their true source will rule our worlds."

Tifa and Cloud glanced at each other, altogether fearful. "Why are you telling us this?" She looked up at them, glancing at each of them in the eye. "The Lady of Between...She wishes for you two to become the guardians of Radiant Garden for him."

"But, Radiant Garden isn't..." "I know, Tifa, but the Lady wishes for the young holder to have as many protectors as possible. She doesn't want to risk what happened...last time."

The two knew better than to ask what had happened.

They glanced at each other once more, deciding what they would do right then.

* * *

"So...This guy. You said he'd have allies that call themselves his 'Guardians?'" Yuffie peered at the older man. He nodded, "Yes. They will only be the best of the best...And I doubt there would be a great number of them. just a few, 20 at most."

Yuffie frowned as did the other Radiant Garden residents. "So, we'll have to watch out for both his guardians and these Tainted?"

Sora nodded at Leon with a weak grin.

"Oh, that sounds fun and easy," Yuffie bit sarcastically. "Well, it should be easier than some of the things we've done so far," Sora mused.

* * *

"Are you sure?" She looked at them, concerned, "The others may fight against you." Tifa looked at her, determined, "Yes. We need to do this. Besides, we might find our way home..." Cloud stared at her, "And that is something we must do."

Aeris closed her eyes and nodded, "Alright. We will mark you down...Your official 'crowning' won't happen until Danny arrives here. He should have at least four of his other guardians with him."

They nodded.

"Okay. You two have to hurry to the places you said you'd be, or else they'll notice there's something up."

* * *

**Okay.**

**I'm done.**

**I said before that every other chapter was going to be about Sora.**

**I changed my mind.**

**Instead, they'll be about each of the guardians that Danny will meet~ So Cloud and Tifa are going to be two of them. so yeah~**


	5. Una Opportunus

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; No. I don't own any of it. Too bad for me.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam(and probably others). AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

AN: More Latin Chapter titles~

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 5; Una Opportunus

* * *

Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze  
Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze  
Va rei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa  
Riou rei croa riou ze rei va ze rei  
Va neu va rei va neu va ze rei  
Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va  
Rei va neu croa tue rei rei

~Grand Fonic Hymn, Tear Grants

* * *

Danny looked up at his new substitue teacher, Mara Jade. She had introduced herself rather cheerfully and then all but demanded that they call her Mara. He watched her as she began to play a game to get to know the students. Tucker was currently making a complete and utter fool of himself.

"Foley, Tucker Foley-" "If you're trying to sweet talk me," Mara said cheerfully, "It won't work. I'm already seeing someone who can sweet talk someone without even trying or meaning to."

The halfa snickered quietly at Tucker's sad face. No doubt he had been hoping to try and get the woman all to himself. "Idiot," Sam hissed into his ear, her tone that of amusement. Danny shot her a grin over his shoulder. "Alright, then, Miss Dark, why don't you tell me your name so I know exactly who I'm dealing with," Mara said, smirking, her voice holding a hint of teasing to it.

"Sam Manson. I'm a goth and Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian."

"Oh, ho, a defiant one. I like that," Mara's smirk grew wider.

Sam smirked to herself while Danny hid a grin. Tucker huffed quietly, upset she had shot him dow so quickly, but seemed just fine with Sam. "Now, now, Mr. Black Hair, your name would be very useful here," the red head grinned at him.

_**Oh, what's going on now? **Now isn't a good time, I'm too busy with dealing with Mara. **Oh, but-**_ "I'm Danny Fenton." She gave him a quick smile. **_Can I talk now?_**_ Er, yeah. what is it? **That woman. She's not just any old person...In fact, She's someone you need to keep close to(Well, I'm pretty sure of that anyway). Also, keep close to your two friends as well-It'll serve you well.**_

_You're crazy, you know that?_ Aqua merely laughed at his comment, so he switched his attention back to the red head woman in front of the classroom.

"So, why don't we just spend the rest of the time just talking?," Mara suggested, smirking at them all. They just shrugged, not sure what to do. So, together, they all began to talk to one another, though many of the classmates decided to engage Mara in coversation.

Both Sam and Tucker started on him about the ghosts and why they hadn't shown up at all in the past week. Danny scolded them about how he had no idea and wasn't about to wander into the Ghost Zone just to find out. After this, Tucker decided to go on a rant about his new handheld. He was interrupted near the end by thier red-head substitute, "Would you three come see me after school has ended?" They stared at her before nodding.

Mara seemed satsified with this and left.

The trio raised their eyebrows at each other. What was that all about?

Later that day, after the final bell rang, they hurried to Mara's office. She was sitting on the desk, watching them as they entered. "Well. Here we are," Sam said with a frown. The red-head sighed and got off the desk, "We don't have much time. _They_ are already coming, and should be here at any time."

Sam stepped back, surprised. Tucker, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about." It was not a question, but a demand. Mara groaned, "Look, these creatures called" **_The Tainted. _**"The Tainted are going to come here any second, when they do, they're going to take over this World and then search for Danny," She nodded to him, "And probably kill him."

His two friends looked either upset or horrified. Danny, on the other hand, was thinking. _Aqua. **Yes? **I can trust her. So, what do I do now? **Go with her. Make sure your friends come too-Their your Amity Park guardians. **_

"Look, I can get him out of here. But I can't leave you two behind either." Sam frowned, "Why?" "You two are two of his guardians as well. However, we don't have any more time to explain-"

BOOM.

Mara fell back against the desk while the other three leaned against the walls as the whole building shook, "Damn! They're here! Come on, we need to go!"

She hurried away to a simple wooden door at the book of the room. Mara ripped the door open and turned back to them, "Well? We need to go!" Danny froze, "But-Everyone!" She groaned, "Force! You're just as bad as Skywalker-C`mon, or I'll drag you three in with me!"

The trio gave each other weak looks and then hurried after the red-head. Inside the room was nothing but a bright light on the ground, shaped like a circle. Mara grabbed Sam and pushed her in, crying, "The Twilight Călătorie!" She disappeared in a flash. "What the-" Tucker began, but he was interupted by another explosion. "Got on it," Mara snapped, grabbing Tucker's arm and forcing him in. "Woah!"

Danny was the last and Mara whipped out her sword of light as the door to the office suddenly burst open, "The exit will disappear after I go through it, so move, Fenton!" Danny cringed at the mention of his last name and, deciding it was the best choice at the moment, leapt into the strong light.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in what looked like a hospital or, maybe even, a nurse's office. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Tucker, still passed out. He heard something that sounded like the doors to the ghost portal opening and then foot steps. "Danny! You're awake." He pushed himself up to look at Sam.

She gave him a grin, "Of course, anyone would have known if Tucker had woken up." Of course: The techno geek had a phobia of hospitals or anything resembling one.

The two of the trio glanced at each other and then snorted. They had teased Tucker about that for a long time. During this time, a certian red-head stepped in behind the other female. "Nice to see that you're all okay." Mara leaned against the doorframe, grinning.

Tucker shifted in his bed ever so slightly. The other three in the room glanced over at him. He didn't move again, except the faintest of sleepy snorts. This made his two best friends snort as well, except in laughter. Then, Danny remembered, "The town! What happened to the town?"

**_I'm sorry, Danny. It's...It was taken by the Tainted. _**"The Tainted rule that world now," Mara muttered softly. Sam closed her eyes, the faintest evidence of sadness shown only in the way she held herself. Danny clutched his fists, "What do you mean, 'The Tainted to rule that world?'"

"The Tainted are creatures of corruption. They can be dark or light, it doesn't matter. They attack and take over worlds, in the name of their master. Then, the people of that world are subjecated, their heroes, or those that can save that world, are taken. And...They usually disappear afterwords."

Danny sucked in a breath. "They would have taken you, Danny," Sam whispered, "And...We wouldn't see you ever again." Tucker shifted again in his bed.

"Mara." She looked up to the speaker, "We have an ETA for Radiant Garden in Two hours. And are those three awake yet? We need to explain _everything_." "Alright, alright, I'll go wake the other AP Guardian." Danny shot Sam a look and she shrugged.

The red-head turned away and towards Tucker, moving over him. With an evil grin, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Did you know you're in a hospital right now?" The young teen suddenly shot up with a faint scream. Danny and Sam face-palmed and grabbed the techno-geek before he could hurt himself.

Mara eyed the three, before turning back to the speaker and pressing one of the four buttons underneath it, "Oi, Skywalker. I think we need to let these guys rest a little longer. Just another hour. We can explain in the last hour before we get Radiant Garden."

There was silence for a long time before, "Okay, Mara. You know best right now." "Damn straight," She said rather cheerfully, before turning to the trio and gesturing for them to follow her. "C`mon, I'll show you all the different rooms around here, as well as your guys' rooms before taking you to the almighty Jedi Master."

The trio glanced at each other and then shrugged weakly. Mara had, basically, saved their lives. It would be best, for the moment, to trust the red head. They all stood, Danny and Sam with a firm hold on Tucker's arms, and left the Medical Wing.

"Well, I suppose we could start with the Training Rooms...They are just, like, right there." Danny shrugged his answer, showing he didn't really care. The group of four moved don to the nearby sliding doors, which opened with he softest of hissing noises.

The first thing they noticed was how big the room was. Next, they noticed the multitude of weapons lying on racks along the walls. After they looked up, they saw a doomed a ceiling, one with many lightes set into the metal. The walls and floors were all padded with silver-gray padding.

The padding, Danny mused, was probably to keep people from getting injured when they were thrown around by attacks from their sparring partners. Whatever the case was, Mara was suddenly grabbing them and pushing them out of the room.

"Weapons later, tour first!"

Tucker huffed, having wanted to go and check out the weapons and find the one for him. Sam shared his outlook, but didn't actually show it.

Whatever the case was, they moved on.

The next room was the dining hall, which was also very large. There, they met Artoo, who, according to Mara, was an astromech droid. Tucker was obviously burning with curiosity, but, seeing as he could not understand Artoo's beeping, he could not ask it questions. Mara didn't know much about astromechs, but she did tell him "Skywalker would love to tell you all about them."

Whoever Skywalker was.

The room they came upon next was the meeting room. It, like the previous two, was large. While the trio could understand why the Training room had to be large, they did not understand why these two had to be large as well. Mara explained thata they would understand later.

Next, was the long hall of rooms. Mara pointed out that all the rooms, except for five of them, would be empty for a little while. Then, she took them to what would be Sam's room. The red-head told Sam to imagine what she would like her room to look like. The goth shrugged at her friends before doing so, her eyes closed.

When Danny and Tucker gasped, she opened her eyes again to see the room she had just imagined in front of her. Mara sent her a grin, "These private rooms change to whatever you want them to look like. For example, you can have two mai private rooms. This would be your private bedroom, and you can have a second room. It could be for anything, a training room, and kitchen, whatever you need that you don't have with the first room. What do you think?"

The trio just gapped and Mara laughed, "The rest of the rooms in Twilight Călătorie won't be needed for a little while longer, except for the library. Why don't we stop there, and then go to the command center, where Skywalker is waiting for us?"

After the three nodded slowly, they set off. When they arrived in the Library, they noted that this room was perhaps the largest in the whole ship. Sam picked up one of the books lying on the table, "'Fonic Artes for Beginners.' What in the world...?"

Mara shrugged, "Dunno. Me and Skywalker have yet to come across the world that Fonic Artes belong to. But, there are a lot of spell books in here, so maybe you should go check them out later." Same nodded slowly. "Also, Tucker, I just remembered that there are some astromech books here that you might like." The techno-geek grinned.

Danny rolled his eyes ever so lightly. He doubted there'd be anything here for him...At least, not right at the moment. Their red-head tour guide turned back to the sliding door and opened it, "Well, let's go. My hour to show you guys around is almsot up!"

The trek to the Command Center was long and veyr up hill. Mara explained that this was because she wanted them to know the hard way, in case the easy way up was blocked. Blocked by what, she didn't say, but when they arrived, their tour hour was over.

Almost immediatly after Mara reached to open the door, it was already sliding open, with a dirty blond haired man standing on the other side. This man had a few scars along his face, but the all black outfit he wore off set these faint scars.

"Mara! I was just coming to get you." The trio realized that this man, who was, at most, ten years older then them, was Skywalker. He turned to them, "My name is Luke Skywalker, but I'm pretty sure you realized that last part already." Dany gave him a sheepish grin. "Well, come on in. You three are probably wondering what exactly is going on..."

* * *

**Mmmmm, here we go. oh, and Twilight Călătorie means Twilight Travel. Do you like it? XD**

**Also, I'm sorry if I don't get Mara and LukeS personalities right. It's my first time writing them so...**

_**Next Chapter;**_** The Abyss; A Swordsman and Songstress listen to their planet's plea for the protection of the Holder**


	6. The Abyss

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; No. I don't own any of it. Too bad for me.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam(and probably others). AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

AN: Tales of the Abyss, yes. It won't be the only tales game here, you know. Prolly will do Tales of Vesperia, too.

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 6; The Abyss

* * *

In the night's abyss, a blooming flower presses against my ears  
My sighs pile up in the noises of the city  
Even now that day is blurry and lost in my memory  
This must have run out, the pain was replaced by a scar

~Nephilim by Abingdon Boys School

* * *

Luke sat, observing the star lit sky. Once an awhile his eyes would drift down to the ruins of Eldrant-Hod. Not too far from him, sitting among the selenias, was Tear. Both had been called to this spot only a few hours earlier, by a quick visit from the phantom Lorelei.

This whole thing was strange, as Lorelei had not contacted anyone since becoming a part of the fon belt. The words he had said, the things he had did...everything. Even Tear, even _Jade_, would have been stumped if they had heard what Luke had been told.

Worlds beyond the one they reside on.

Creatures traveling to each, and then taking it over.

Heroes, gone. Corruption, everywhere.

He could not let that happen to Auldarant, not after everything they had done to save it. Luke would not allow it...and Lorelei knew that. Perhaps, that was why he had been among the two chosen for this...job. Or Whatever Lorelei was planning.

"...Tear?"

The brunette looked at him, "What is it, Luke?" "I..." He frowned, "I just don't understand it all...What does Lorelei want us to do?" The seventh fonist blinked and then shook her head, "I...don't know, Luke."

The redhead gave the softest of sighs: He wanted to _know_, dammit, what was so wrong with that?

"Ano? Anata ha Ruku and Tearu?(1)" The two jumped and looked towards the edge of the field. There stood a young girl with short black hair and wide sky-blue eyes, "Uh, what?"

She gasped, "Sumimsen! Watashiha wasurete shimatta...(2)" The girl breathed in. "Sorry," She repeated, "I forgot you guys don't speak Japanese." Luke stared at her in confusion: What was _Japanese_?

The girl gave a little bow, "I am Xion. Ah...You are Luke and Tear, right?" The red-head and brunette nodded. "That's good! Um..." Xion paused, seeming to think.

The black-haired woman brought a hand to her chest, "You...got the message from your 'god', correct?" "I suppose...you could call Lorelei a god," Tear murmured, "Why?" "Oh! I am...meant to bring the message from the Lady of Between to you."

The two heroes gave her curious look. "You will, most likely, meet her later," Xion murmured, "That is, if she does what she's planning to do..." "May...I ask who she is?"

Xion laughed, "You just did. But, I can't tell you. That's that idiot's job." A scowl crossed her features before she shook her head, "Anyway! I was meant to come here and tell you that you must lead the Holder of the Keys to the Tower of...Light? and then show him the fragmented reflection."

"Tower...of light?" Tear murmured, confused. Luke shrugged at her and turned back to the girl, only to see that she was gone. "Wha-Where'd she go?"

Tear blinked in surprise, "She was just there." The two fighters glanced at each other and then back to the spot Xion had been. "Well..."

Luke scratched the back of his head and sighed, "There's nothing more we can do. If she was the one Lorlei wanted us to meet, she's gone. Let's go home, okay?" Tear gave him ne of her small, shy smiles before leading the way out of the valley.

The red-head paused and peeked back towards the flowery vallley, staring out at the sea. "I wonder...What's going to happen next?"

* * *

"Heeeeey, So~ora! Have you seen Cloud and Tifa?" The spiky haired keyblade wielder jumped, "Yuffie! Uh. No, I haven't seen them. Why?" The ninja gave a despairing sigh, "Someone wanted Cloud to deliver something, and he never answers his stupid cellphone, so I was elected as the messenger."

She pouted, "It's so not fair. I wanted to go and practice some of those spells Merlin was teaching us! Stupid Cloud, disappearing like that." Sora grinned at her, "So, you're learnign magic, then?"

"Yup!" Yuffie grinned widely, "Whenever I see you or Cloud or Tifa fighting, I always feel really left out!"

"Left out?"

"Yeah! I feel like I'm not as strong as you guys!"

Sora blinked, surprised. Yuffie really felt like that? Wait. "Cloud and Tifa can cast magic?" The ninja blinked, "Well, I think they can. They're always backing each other up with their skills, and sometimes I see them throwing fireballs or thunder strikes at heartless and stuff that sneak up on the other!"

The girl frowned, "Actually, they're both really good, and work best together. But..." She pouted again, "Leon isn't like that with me! I want someone who would fight like that with me, too!" Sora gave her a grin, "C'mon, you'll find a fighting partner like that eventually, I bet."

Yuffie went red, embarrassed. _**Sora, you're so naive**. Huh, why? **Just...you're an idiot. Honestly. **_"Yuffie?" "Nothing!" She squeaked, running away.

"I...don't get it." While he was standing there, trying to figure out why Yuffie had run off, Riku came around the corner, nearly running into him. "Sora!" He paused in his thinking and looked up at the silver haired boy, "Uh, Riku? Why so rushed?" "No time! We need to get back to Merlin's place-Where's Yuffie?"

The keyblade wielder said, "She ran off earlier, after talking about how Cloud and Tifa fight together." Riku sighed, "What did you say?" "Uh. I said she'd find someone that she could fight with like Cloud and Tifa fight together. Then she got all red and embarrassed and ran off."

Riku groaned, "You don't get it, do you, Sora? And you don't understand what's going on between those two, do you?" _**Of course not, he's Sora, after all.** Oi! What's that supposed to mean?_

While Sora wasn't rushed, Riku was and he remembered this, "Crap! Sora, we need to go...!"

Too late.

Sora's keyblade flashed into his hand and several strange creatures fell down around them. "These are?" "The Tainted!" Riku finished, brandishing the Way to Dawn. "Seriously?" Sora flung Fenrir into a nearby enemy. "Duh. Didn't you pay attention to those slides Masters showed us?"

"Uh, no?"

"Well!" A slash, "These ones are," A heavy thunk, "Ow-6th class. The Tainted are-Oh, come on, let me talk!" A stab, "There. The Tainted are seperated into Classes. The 6th Class are the second weakest, the weakest being 7th Class. The toughest are, obviously, 1st Class. That's the leader."

He blinked, "So...?"

"7th class," Riku continued speaking, slashing as he did so, "Are usually used as spies or cannon fodder. 6th class lead the spy or scouting groups. They're also the most common. 5th class are the 6th class' commanders..." Riku kicked one into the wall.

Sora hummed as he put one to it's end, "And that means?" "According to the King and Masters, 5th Class lead the small legions of 6th class when taking over a world. 4th class lead the elite 5th class, and attack after the 5th and 6th classes. 3rd class leads 4th class elite..." Riku paused. "What?"

"Mmmm...2nd class is, apparently, a last resort. If the Tainted are losing, then they'll bring a few 2nd class in. Besides the leader, or 1st Class, the 2nd class are the most human-looking Tainted."

Riku eyed the last of the Tainted, "Like I said. These are 6th Class. That means that either they're scouting...or..."

An explosion seemed to rock the ground they stood on, "Or they're invading," He finished grimly. That was when they heard a scream. The two exchanged glances and then rushed toward the scream.

They skidded to a stop when they saw Cloud fighting several Tainted alone, while Tifa calmed down four children. "Those are 4th class!" Riku hissed, bringing out his keyblade again. Cloud appeared to be holding his own against the 4th class, but, they _were_ 4th class.

Tifa reached up and grabbed Sora's arm, "Protect this four! I'm going to help Cloud!" "Wha-Wait!" Tifa had already run off towards the intense battle taking place before them. "Is she nuts?" Riku muttered as one of the youngest children, a boy with blue-blond hair, burst into tears, "Tiiiifaaaa~! Clooouuud~!"

Sora blinked, "Riku. I don't think she's nuts. I think she's insane. Now help me out!" The brunette was fussing over the crying boy, while trying to keep the other three calm, "Maybe...Hey, why don't we go to Merlin's house? If we go there, then we'll be able to come and help Cloud and Tifa!"

This stopped the kids crying right away. "You better!" the blue-blond boy snapped, "Tifa and Cloud are going to save everyone!...Or at least help." Riku raised an eyebrow. "The singing voice told us!" the only girl of the group pouted.

The two keyblade wielders glanced at each other: Singing Voice? "What voice?" "You can't her her `cause you don't listen!" Sora sighed, "And how do you listen?" "The Flower Girl taught us!" the girl cheered, then turned and hurried to the house nearby, "We live here! So go help Cloud and Tifa! Now!"

The four disappeared inside, making the brunette stare. "Flower girl?" Riku murmured. Sora shook his head, "it doesn't matter. C`mon, lets-"

"We're fine."

They looked up at the blond who had just entered the small courtyard, "Cloud!" "Both me and Tifa are all right. I think we should return to Merlin's place." The dark man headed the way back to the headquarters of the restoration committee. "Don't mind him," Tifa said quickly, "He was hoping that he'd be able to go on a few deliveries before I opened Sixth Heaven."

Riku looked curious and opened his mouth, but Sora interrupted, "Sixth Heaven is your place, right?" Tifa smiled and nodded, and turned away to follow her friend. "It's silly," She mused aloud, "How everything is. I wonder if..." She trailed off as the two keyblade warriors followed on her heels.

"Wonder if what, Tifa?" Sora asked.

"Oh, nothing," She hummed and lead the way into Merlin's home. "You're here!" Aerith leapt up. Cloud stood at the farthest wall from the door, where Tifa joined him. Leon, and Yuffie, were standing near Cid was he tapped away at his keyboard. The King and Kairi stood in the center of the room with Merlin, "Welp, guys. Radiant Garden is being invaded."

"Again."

"Yuffie!"

She stuck her tongue out, "It's true!"

Mickey sighed, "Unfortunately, it is. And I've got more bad news. You know Vlad's home world?" "Amity Park?" Riku muttered. "Yes," The king nodded, "The Tainted have finally decided to take it over, and there's more.

"We think the leader of the Tainted is coming _here_."

* * *

**(1) "Um? Are you Luke and Tear?"**

**(2) "Sorry! I forgot..."**

**WTF Yuffie. Why do I keep using exclaimation points with you? Jeez! Oh, and don't worry about that, Yuf. :3 I'll be giving you your own -coughboytoycough- later.**

**Yuffie: Who? Te~ell me!**

**...But If I told you, then everyone would know!**

**Yuffie: No fair!**

**Stop using exclaimation points!**

**Yuffie: Never!**

**-sakes fist- That's it! You're going in the box! -shoves the ninja in the box of DOOM- Sorry for all that. Yuffie gets a bit too excited.**

**So, Radiant Garden is being invaded...Again. Jeez, such a target, ain'tcha, RG?**

_**Next Chapter:**_** Ortus; The Key-Holder and his fellow have arrived on Radiant Garden, only to find out it's being invaded. They need to find the Guardians of this world, as well as the Key, before the world is lost.**


	7. Ortus

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; No. I don't own any of it. Too bad for me.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam(and others). AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

AN: Well, here we go. Ortus=Garden. Apparently, there's no word for Radiant in Latin.

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 7; Ortus

* * *

This pouring radiance  
reaches towards you without end.  
Our dream illuminates us towards that place,  
and that flicker dancing in the sky  
carries us into our unending future!  
It becomes my answer!

~ATHENA by Abingdon Boys School

* * *

"What the hell?"

Mara voiced the question that all of them had been thinking.

The sight before them was terrifing, as thousands of strange ships flitted to and fro across the border of Radiant Garden. Tucker look horrified, and Sam was actually shuddering. The mere thought, to Danny, of the tough goth shivering at all was a bit of a shock.

**_Danny. She may be a pretty tough one, but she's still a girl. Like me! _**_Yeah? I forget you're a girl, sometimes, with the way you talk. **Eh?**_

The halfa drowned out the rest of her protests by focusing on Skywalker, "Hey? We're still going down there, right?" The blond sighed, "I don't think we have a choice. We need to get to the Key, and find the guardians here. The only way to do that is to go world side."

The only red-head of the group frowned, "Tucker and Sam don't have any weapons. Unless you want them to actually use their picked weapons in battle, right after they pick them?" The dryness in the statement made Skywalker grin.

"Maybe."

Sam let out a soft breath. "We don't have a choice," She finally said, "Me and Tucker can learn in battle. That is, after all, the best way to learn how to fight." Tucker now frowned, "But Danny? What about his weapon?"

"I already have one," Danny grinned. He raised his right hand and, in a flash, his sword-like weapon(_Aqua called it a keyblade._) appeared in it, held in a backwards grip. "Holy Crap!" Tucker cried, staring at the blue, black, and white keyblade.

"A keyblade," Skywalker observed, "Shouldn't be surprised: You are the Key Holder after all."

The other two opened their moths to ask questions, but Mara raised a hand, "Not right now. We can explain later, because now we need to get you your weapons. C`mon, we'll go to the Armory." Danny followed the group of three, as just standing around with nothing to do was boring, and he wanted to see what his friends chose.

When they arrived at the new room(which was just down the hall from the Training Room), He was already bored. Expecially when he had Aqua protesting about his previous comments in his head. "Here we are," Mara announced, pressing a finger to the pad next to the sliding door. It, of course, slid open.

Danny gapped at all the weapons and armor that lined the walls. Sam and Tucker hurried in, peering here and there for a weapon they may like. Danny was helping too, like throwing out suggestions for weapons they could use, as well asking if they'd want any, say, arm armor.

Tucker hit him for his _very_ bad pun.

"Dunno why you did that," The dark-haired boy muttered, "Your jokes are way worse. And I didn't mean to make a pun either." Mara just snickered at him. The halfa gave a dramatic sigh, "You guy are supposed to make sure I _don't _die, not hurt me. Cruelty beyond cruelty." Sam hit him this time. "Okay, that hurt," Danny mumbled, rubbing his shin.

Mara suddenly stood straight, her eyes gleaming. The trio gave her wary looks. "Tucker!" He jumped. "Yeah?" The red-head rushed over to the wall at the far end, pulling something off after she arrived. "Here, this just might be your weapon!" Mara tossed it to the techno geek.

The weapon he caught looked a lot like a bow, except there was rather bendy metal where the wood would've been. "An Energy Bow. It's a lot like a lightsaber, except the energy string you launch Arrows from doesn't hurt." She waved her purple, sheathed blade at them. "Arrows make themselves when you pull the string back, too, so no need for ammo! No money loss, either." Tucker grinned widely at this.

"Sam, look at that wall next to you." The goth raised an eyebrow, but turned anyway. "See that red meatl Staff? Take it." Sam reached out and picked it up. "Now," Mara began, "There's a sliding button on the side. It's locked right now, I'll unlock it later, but when you slide that button, a blade will come out of the end. It's also pretty good for casting spells of all kinds, which you seemed interested in."

The younger woman looked up, her eyes the only thing showing how grateful she was for this weapon. The four jumped when Skywalker called out from the speaker, "You guys hurry back up, I got the hint for the guardians of Radiant Garden!" Mara gasped, pulled the teens out of the room, and sealed the armory behind them.

She paused suddenly and then opened a near by door, "It's a closet with enough clothes for you three to pick some new clothes. Be quick as you can, okay?" Sam opened her mouth to argue, but the red-head had already hurried away.

The Goth huffed with her hands placed on her hips. "Really!" She frowned, "She didn't have to run off already." Tucker shrugged and hurried into the closet. Danny sniggered as Sam sent a glare at the teen's back before following him.

Tucker had already picked out a shirt, boots, and scarf by the time they had found him in the admit-table large closet. He was wearing the sleeveless turtle-neck with the scarf wrapped around his neck. He continued to wear his dark green cargo pants, though now, their ends were now tucked into the boots he wore. A pair of fingerless gloves, though the right thumb, pointer, and middle finger were all completely covered. Good Archer glove, there.

Sam seemed to be interest in a black, sleeveless jacket with coat tails, as well as a thigh length, purple skirt. She picked up two pairs of knee high boots and elbow high fingerless gloves. The dark haired girl took refuge in one of the changing rooms in the back and began to change her outfit.

Danny had picked out a mainly black and silver-white clothing. The only change to it was the bracelet that was hooked around his wrist. It looked a bit like charm bracelet, like one a girl would wear. There was put one 'charm' on it, the one for the Kanji for Water. Aqua had explained, when he first noticed it, that it was for summoning Keys. The kanji for each obtained Key would appear on it, and they would glow when in use.

The other two were exchanging banter when the Key Holder next left the room. "Honestly you two. We need to hurry back to the command center, right, for the whole Guardian thing, right?" They stopped, though only Tucker looked obviously sheepish.

The trio then proceeded to hurry up the way they had come to the ships Command Center. Upon their arrival, Mara rose from the place she had sat down at. "Well," She sighed, "We have no idea what the clue means." "What is it?" Sam murmured.

"'The Locked Heart and Root of Strife.' That's the clue," Skywalker sighed. Danny frowned, "Doesn't sound like an easy clue." "It would be if we knew what their names were," Mara mused. Sam and Tucker agreed with her quietly. Skywalker shook his head, "It doesn't matter right now. You four can head down, now that you have your weapons. Just, be careful all right?"

The group nodded, though the youngest three were surprised that Mara was coming with. Mara then lead them to one of the doors that she had not shown them and opened it. "Transport pad. It'll take us down to Radiant Garden...So let's go!"

After a burst of light and several blinks of the eyes, they stood in a half demolished courtyard, many of the stone bricks that littered the area centered in a circle around them. "Where are we?" Sam questioned.

"We're near the city...Let me check," Mara raised her wrist and pressed a switch, reading out, "'The Bailey.' I'm guessing it used to be the gate for the city. Doesn't look like much now, anymore."

Together, they moved forward. They managed to get into the outer sections of the city, the neighborhoods, before they encountered any Tainted. When they did, Tucker and Same were, surprisingly, the first to react. Tucker let off several of the energy arrows from his bow while Sam simply slammed her staff into the head of a near by one. Danny summoned his keyblade and attacked two Tainted at the same time.

Mara was shoving Tainted towards the three with the Force, allowing them to take out even more without letting their guard down. It didn't take too long, though, to get rid of them all. They moved on, only to run into more. This continued on for the next thirty minutes until..."What now?" Danny said, after they had finished the last of them.

"You're going to come with us and explain why you can use the Keyblade."

Danny looked up, staring at the white haired teen that glared back at him. Behind him, a spikey brunette had appeared, panting. Obviously, the other boy had rushed to follow the white-haired one. **_Sora and Riku. _**Aqua suddenly muttered in the back of his head.

_...What? **Oh! Thats their names. Sora and Riku. **_The brunette chose this moment to scold the older boy, "Riku! Don't just run off and then demand things like that to people!" Riku was the one with the silver-white haired boy, then that meant the brunette was Sora.

"What if we don't want to come with you?" Sam demanded, her eyes flashing. Riku smirked while Sora gave an exasperated groan, "Well, then I guess we'll have to fight." He leapt down, and after a moment's hesitation, Sora followed him.

Tucker gave a tiny squeak and Danny couldn't help but agree: They had never actually _fought _other people. Ghosts, yes. The occasional Ghost Hunter, only to defend themselves. "You're nuts," Danny declared. Riku snorted, "You're the ones who're nuts: Who in the world would fight us?"

"Cocky."

"We have right to be."

Sora seemed a little upset about Riku's comments, but, while normally he would, Danny didn't bother sympathize. Not when he had a bad feeling about them...and about a certain Fruitloop. "Look, we don't want to fight. We're just trying to find something, and got in the Tainted's way. We'll just grab what we came for, defeat any tainted in our way, and leave. Okay?"

Riku didn't seem to like this suggestion, as he summoned his keyblade (**_Way to Dawn _**Aqua informed him) and brandished it. Sora followed him, obviously reluctant about this whole thing, but not willing to let his friend fight alone. the keyblade that Sora wielded was dark and AQua exclaimed that this one was called Oblivion.

Danny sighed, "Fine." He brandished his own keyblade and Sam and Tucker fell into position behind him. Mara stayed out of the fight, concentrating on any and all Tainted that tried to take advantage of the fight.

The fight itself was rather long. Riku refused to stay down for long, and whenever he was in trouble, Sora would pop up and clash with him, while Same and Tucker tried to attack, to stop him from getting away. During these times, Riku would heal himself, and Sora, and the two would go back to their fighting partners.

It only ended when a man, one with even spikier hair then Sora, dropped his blade down in between Riku and Danny. "What are you doing?" He demanded, "You should be helping defend the town. _Not fighting random people!_" The brunette stared at the angry blond while Danny tipped his head to the side. Obviously, judging by the looks of the keyblade wielders' faces, this was not usually behavior of this man.

"Sorry, Cloud," Sora finally said, looking sheepish. Riku grumbled and turned away, heading further into the city. The brunette glanced between him and Cloud before following him. Cloud shook his head and turned to them, "So."

Mara moved forward, retracting her lightsaber, "I don't suppose you could help us, Mister...?" "Cloud Strife," He murmured, "And I can't help unless you tell me your names."

Sam had furrowed her brows in thought and Tucker was gapping at the large sword(Which was perhaps as wide as his entire body) so Danny took over for introductions, "I'm Danny. That's Sam," He gestured to the goth, "Tucker," He did the same for his friend, "And..." He paused, looking at Mara. "Mara Jade," She supplied.

Cloud nodded slowly when another figure came dashing towards them. "Yeesh, how many people are there here?" Tucker muttered, having finished gawking at the sword. "Cloud!" The figure turned out to be a woman, wearing all black and long dark brown hair. She paused and stared at them with curious red-wine eyes.

The blond turned to her, "This is Tifa Lockhart," Then, "Tifa. Remember, Aeris?" Tifa nodded slowly, "I was just at the church. It's...well. The flowers are glowing. I'm afraid...the Tainted may find it, with all the glowing." Sam suddenly shot up straight and cried, "Locked Heart and Root of Strife!" The two turned and stared at her.

Mara blinked, then laughed, "Well, what do ya know? It fits." Tucker snorted into his hand, smothering his laughter. Danny tipped his head to the side, "Locked Heart...Lockhart...Root of Strife...Strife...Oh. I get it now." HE sent and anxious look at the red-head. "Hey," She shrugged, "This means we don't have to go wandering all over the place to find them."

"What _are _you talking about?" Tifa finally said. Mara simply said, "Guardians." Surprisingly, the other two got it right off the bat. "Oh!" Tifa muttered, "So that means..." Cloud eyed Danny, "The Key Holder, then?" The dark haired teen nodded slowly. "Okay!" The woman clapped her hands, making nearly everyone jump, "We know where the Key is, so we can take you there! Then..." She paused, "We'll be coming with you, right?"

The only red-head just nodded.

"Let's go," Cloud murmured. Danny inclined his head and the two fighters lead the way across the many streets, taking back ways that only they would know. After nearly twenty minutes of walking, they came across a large, half-collapsed church. All of them could see the faint glow coming from inside, and Tifa explained that it was because the flowers had started glowing an hour ago. "A hour ago, huh?" Mara said quietly, "That's when we got here."

The two new guardians glanced at each other and Tifa shrugged. "Well," Danny began, "Let's go in." He lead the rest of the way into the church. The first thing everyone saw was the few surviving church pews that were near the door. Beyond them was a small field of glowing white flowers.

What, or _who_, they saw kneeling down among them made them stare. The young woman there had light brown hair that was tied up into a ponytail with a pink ribbon. She also wore a pink dress, the same shade as the ribbon, and a darker pink jacket. Around her wrists, when they could see them, were a pair of golden bands.

She looked up.

Her eyes, Danny mused, were the clearest shade of green he had ever seen. And her smile was pretty nice, too. The woman stood and gestured for them, or him?, to get closer. Cloud leaned over and spoke quietly into his ear, "Aeris wants to talk with you alone."

Danny glanced at him from the corner of his eye before moving forward. 'Aeris' smiled at him kindly again, which made him relax and move faster. When he stopped, standing in front of the woman, among the flowers, she raised a hand in greeting before clasping her hands in front of her as if in prayer. _"Hello, Danny. I've been waiting for you to come here since you arrived."_

"...Sorry I'm late?"

_"It's fine! However, I would like to know if you are ready?"_

"I don't have to fight you, do I?"

_"Oh, no! You've already proven your strength with Aqua."_

"Oh. Ah, I'm ready, then."

Aeris smiled widely and brought her clasped hands up to just below her chin. _"Oh, Holder of the Keys of the Worlds, one who can wield the creating elements, The Will of Heart willing gives her service to thee." _She dropped her hands and leaned forward towards him.

He raised the hand where his silver charm bracelet dangled and Aeris took it. _"With this, Will of Heart will stay __by your side until she is no longer needed," _She said. She began to glow even brighter then the flowers around them and then disappeared. On the bracelet, a new charm, the kanji symbol for Heart appeared. **_I'm glad to be here._** _Oh! Aeris...? **Yes. If you need to talk with me or Aqua, you only need to call our names...In your head, of course! **Uh. Okay._

Danny glanced down at the flowers around his feet, which had stopped glowing. "Hey, Danny?" The dark haired teen turned to Sam. "You okay?" He grinned, "I'm fine!" Mara was glancing over her shoulder, frowning, "I think we should go. The protection that flowers were giving is gone now, so the Tainted will be here soon."

Tifa looked at her, "The Tainted will leave after we go, right?" The red-head sent hr a cocky smirk, "Of course! They were only here for the Key, and now that Danny has it, we'll be fine," She gestured to the door, "There's a pad that'll take us back to the Twilight Călătorie. It'll probably be gone after leave, though."

Sam nodded and lead the way next to Danny out of the ruined church. From there, Mara lead them to a nearby glowing circle, where they, one by one, entered it and disappeared. Danny was the last and the only one to see the demolished church disappear into green sparks.

What had that been?

* * *

**Wooooooaaaaah. I'm done. :3 So, Cloud and Tifa are now with Danny, and Danny had a small spat with Riku and Sora. Mostly Riku, though.**

**Just so you know, Riku doesn't realize that Danny is the guy Vlad says is leading the Tainted, so that's why he doesn't take the fight completely seriously. And Yuffie is going to freak out over the fact that Cloud and Tifa have disappeared again.**

_** Next Time: **_**Brave Vesperia. A Knight and Princess meet and wonder. A meeting between one of the many sides against the Tainted-But are they just pawns, all of them?**


	8. Brave Vesperia

Kingdom Hearts: Darkest Intentions

Disclaimers; No. I don't own any of it. Too bad for me.

Warning; minor swearing from Danny and Sam(and others). AUish for BBS(no spoilers) and generally an AU side version of KHIII(Reconnect?)

AN: Aaaaahhh...Writer's block. Compared to the last, rather long chapter, this is pathetic. -mock sob- I hope you guys aren't too disappionted in it!

Part 1; Darkness

Chapter 8; Brave Vesperia

* * *

I hope I can teach to know  
happiness and sadness in this beautiful world  
this scientist only had one wish and a one hope  
time right then and now could be stopped  
he put this all into his heart and himself  
in his mind he just hears a little voice  
and this kokoro

~Kiseki by Len Kagamine

* * *

Estellise, or Estelle, glanced out the window as she closed her book. She had just finished writing one of the last chapters of her story. The Story. Their Story. A story that started two years ago, when Yuri had, in all layman's terms, kidnapped her from the castle.

She gave a little laugh and placed her pen down next to the book. It was a rather long story, but the fact that she had _lived _it and not just making things up helped her write it down. When there was a chapter or scene she was unsure of, she would speak with Yuri or Rita, or one of the other members of Brave Vesperia. Estelle smiled at the thought, thinking of little Karol and swift Judith.

The princess wondered when she'd see her friends again.

There was a knock on the door and Estelle rose from her seat, "Come in!" The door was opened almost tentatively, and a familiar blond man stood there, "Ah...Lady Estelle?" The pinkette smiled at him, pleased that Flynn had finally started calling her Estelle. Too bad she could never get him to stop calling 'Lady.'

"Earlier, Lady Estelle, You said you wanted to go out to the garden...?" Estelle blinked, surprised, "Oh! But, Flynn, I couldn't possibly bother you with that, You're the Commandant!" "I'd still like to accompany you. After all, I haven't had anything to do for a couple of days," Flynn rumbled softly. The young woman frowned at thing, wondering if she should take him up on his offer.

She admitted defeat.

"Alright."

Flynn seemed as overjoyed as he could be that she said yes, which was a bit confusing. Ah, well, Yuri had been acting a bit odd around her too, like he was trying to keep something secret. Whatever it was, she mused, must be big for him to not say anything. As the pinkette and blond walked down the hallway, many guards, soldiers, and noblemen called out greetings to both herself and Flynn, no doubt trying to assure them they were doing their jobs.

Well.

It wasn't like it was _her _or _Flynn's _job to pulled them down a few ranks. That was her brother's job. Of course, the soldiers, and some guards, were under Flynn's jurisdiction, but he hardly ever punished the by taking their rank away.

Sometimes, that was the worst punishment of all: Knowing you did something wrong and not getting punished for it.

Estelle clasped her hands in front of her as she stood at the edge of the garden, beaming with a bright smile. Flynn gave her his own small smile and moved to bring her deeper in. She giggled quietly and followed him. They both paused in the center of the rather bright garden, Estelle kneeling down to cup a blossom in her hands.

She smiled down at the flower, though the woman thought it curious. The flower was a bright red, the tips of each of the petals darkened to a black like ash. For some odd reason, she thought it was lonely. Then, an unfamiliar voice interrupted her thoughts, "Pretty garden you guys have here. Much nicer then Wonderland's, in my opinion. Never understood why Luxord liked it so much..."

Both Flynn and Estelle turned, the blond making to pull his sword out when the red-head that stood before them raised his hands in a sign on surrender, "Woah! I'm not going to hurt you. I was just comin` to tell you guys some stuff." Flynn narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to respond, but Estelle raised a hand, "What 'stuff', Sir...?" "Axel. Don't add the 'Sir,' please. And the stuff, well." He paused and looked around.

"You see, you guys need to defend this guy. This guy is named, Danny. He'll show up with a few others, and you guys have to stick with him, or he might die. And if that happens, he won't be able to find me and then get off this world. And when, or even if, he gets off this world, you're going to have to go with him," Axel gave them a stern look. Flynn again opened his mouth to argue, but Estelle placed her hand on his arm.

"Do we have a choice?"

"...Sorry, you don't. Because, if you don't do what I just said...," He paused, closing his eyes, "The Tainted will tear this place apart." "Tainted?" Flynn questioned. Axel only shook his head, pulling the cloak that had been thrown over his shoulder on. He gestured across the land, toward. "Why...?" He sighed at the question, "I'll be there, waiting for you to bring Danny there, okay? C`ya."

And after that farewell, he disappeared in a play of flames. The knight and princess blinked. "Well," Estelle began, "That was interesting."

* * *

Sora sneezed suddenly from his spot next to Riku who rolled his eyes at him. The Tainted, surprisingly, had left Radiant Garden a few hours earlier, leaving the people injured, but alive. Aerith had healed all of the most injured up until she had, rather suddenly, fainted. She had yet to wake up, and Leon had taken up a spot next to her bed to watch over her until she did awake.

Yuffie was swinging her legs back and forth, staring despondently at the wall. Earlier, she had searched the city over and over again for any sign of Cloud or Tifa, but neither could be found. When Sora and Riku had told her they had seen them earlier, she had raced off to that spot. She had returned even more depressed then before.

Seeing Yuffie depressed was almost insane. Cid, on the other hand, wasn't as surprising. For some reason he just seemed like someone who would be at least a little depressed: Which, of course, he was. In fact, the only people who seemed unaffected were Vlad and the King, and even the King looked a little strained.

"So."

Leon had come down, his face pale. Everyone looked to him. "What are we going to do now?" He turned his eyes to the only two indifferent people in the house. Vlad sighed, "We need to learn if the leader, or source, of the Tainted to show up. The best way to do that is search the areas where the Tainted presence was heaviest."

Yuffie jumped up. "Well!" She cried, her voice one of fake cheer, "Let's get started! What would the aura look like?" "Blue-Silver," Vlad murmured softly. "Odd," She mused, her voice losing a bit of the fake tone, "The Tainted have a dark, murky red tint..." Then, Yuffie shrugged, turning away and pushing her way out the door.

The older brunette sighed at his 'little sister's' actions, "I'm sorry, she's usually more...careful, about things." "It's fine," Vlad waved his hand. Mickey stared at the door with a soft sigh, "I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. She did just, basically, lose a couple of friends." Cid didn't say a word, tapping away at his computer's keyboard.

Kairi peered at him, frowning, and then looked back at Sora, her eyes shadowed with her own sadness. Riku and Sora exchanged glances then, waving their hands to her. The auburn haired teen approached quietly, trying not to interrupt the King, Leon, and Vlad's discussion, "I don't know what to do."

Sora sighed, "I don't either." Riku only grunted his agreement, frowning. "Riku?" "Wha-Oh. I...was thinking." "About what?" Kairi asked curiously. The silver-white haired teen's frown deepened, "Sora, you remember that kid we saw? the one who had a keyblade?" The brunette perked up and nodded.

"He..."

"You saw someone? With a keyblade?"

Vlad approached them, his eyes flashing. Riku gulped quietly, "Y-yes?" Sora was a little surprised by his friend's stutter, but could understand: Vlad was _scary. _"You didn't tell us that!" He snapped. The teens jumped at his snap, surprised by his anger. **_Yeesh, what's got his panties in a twist? _**_Roxas! **What? I'm just wondering!**_

Mickey also frowned, "What is important about that?" "It's important," Vlad began, "Because, the leader of the Tainted can use a keyblade." "But we saw them _fighting _Tainted! Why would their own leader fight them? And why would the Tainted _attack _their leader?" Sora argued reasonably.

_**Not going to work.**_

_Why do you say that?_

**_He's stubborn...And...I dunno, his behavior is..._**

_...Roxas?_

"Sora, Riku, what did this boy look like?" Leon suddenly said. Sora bit his lip, feeling a little like a kid about to snitch. But, obviously, Riku didn't have this same feeling, "Messy Blak hair, blue eyes. Wore all black, was with a girl and boy his age, about 16, maybe 17, and an older red-head woman, probably in her early twenties." The brunette shot him a surprised look: Why was he just blabbing like that?

Kairi also seemed surprised, but more so by Vlad's quiet gasp, "That's him!" Sora snapped his head toward him so fast, Roxas swore they got whiplash, "How can you be sure?" Vlad's eyes flashed. "Because, how many people can match the description and wield a keyblade?" He snapped. Sora cringed and opened his mouth to return a comment, one that would heavily Roxas influenced, when the door for the house slammed opened, literally bouncing off the wall behind it.

Yuffie stood there, gasping for breath. Once she caught it, she looked up at them, "Saw..Light blue...with a whole bunch of other colors..." Kairi looked curious about the whole 'colored aura' thing, but Vlad spun around to face her, "You did?"

The ninja winced at his sudden, as far as she was concerned, demand, "Well, yeah. I'm confused as to why you say that light blue is the color for the leader-I mean, shouldn't it be more of a dark reddish color? The Tainted are a murky, dark red after all."

Vlad growled, "That _is _him! Can you tell where he went?" "No!" Yuffie snapped, her patience thinning, "I can't tell! all of the colors got pretty squashed together, and the Tainted auras covered it up, too!" Leon forced his way in between the two before Vlad could retort. "Look! We all need to calm down. At the moment, we have no choice but to track them down. The only way to do that is for all of us to work together..." He gave Vlad a significant look, "And to keep our tempers in check."

The man frowned before running a hand down his face, sighing deeply, "I'm terribly sorry. My nerves have been on edge all day, and the thought we might not be able to catch him was a bit...daunting." Yuffie crossed her arms, "_I'm _not sorry. What I said was perfectly in my rights to say, so don't argue with me." The last part had been directed at the scarred brunette who only sighed in response.

"It doesn't matter," The king announced, "We need to get moving. If we don't, we'll fall behind." Yuffie leapt to attention, "I can't go! I need to defend the town...! Look for Cloud and Tifa...! There's so much I need to do!" Leon shook his head, "I doubt Cloud and Tifa are still on Radiant Garden. Most likely, Cloud went after Sephiroth again, and Tifa went after him. And our new recruits can defend the city." The ninja froze, "_New Recruits_?"

"Zidane and Terra."

Yuffie looked pissed about not being told about these new recruits, but a soothing female voice spoke up, "I think we should go." They all looked up to the stairs where an exhausted Aerith was leaning against the wall. "Aerith...!" Yuffie muttered, looking aghast.

Leon looked about to argue but Cid interrupted, "Alright then. I got the newest model of Gummi Ship up and running, The Shera. I'm the pilot, and if anyone tries to take over and crashes the ship, I'll kick their ass. Got me?" The Destiny Trio stared at him with wide eyed horror as they nodded slowly. Yuffie didn't question his sudden protectiveness, but the other four adults in the room raised their eyebrows.

As far as they were concerned, this was new behavior for Cid.

Finally, the King gestured to Leon, "Leave a message, will ya? We need to get going if we're going to catch up!"

* * *

**Wow. I'm done.**

**Obviously, in regards to Axel in the first part of the chapter, he has an easier time telling the difference between languages on different worlds. For example, Auldarant residents speak English, while TL(TOV) speak japanese. Some worlds speak Mandarin Chinese, others Welsh. The reason off-worlders can understand what the people of each world say is cause of the world magic. Duh?**

**Also, do you like my Zidane and Terra(FF Series!) cameos, even though they don't get _any _speaking line, and are only mentioned? I hope you do XD**

** Next chapter: Procerus Part 1 _Discussions between new allies and a realm of new possibilities. However, will their enemies, of both sides, catch up to them? Or will they be able to get to the Reflection of Power in time?_**


	9. Note from the Author

**Oh, man this is the second story I've had to do this for. But I have my reasons, important ones. The main being that I've, eh, lost my outline for the story. That's what I get for not updating often.**

**Likewise, because I have lost it, there is several inconsistencies with the sequel, Legacy, that I'm going to have to fix with a rewrite.**

**That, and when I read some of the older chapters, I cry.**

**Um, see ya in the rewrite, once I get the time!**

**~Dreamer's Dark Requim**


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